MIDLAND DAILY NEWS: Annette Glenn announces candidacy for 98th House

Posted by News Director0sc on March 09, 2018

For a couple of months now, the assumption has been that Annette Glenn would enter the race for the 98th State House District. That has now happened as the 54-year-old announced she will be a Republican candidate.

Glenn, whose campaign theme will be "Energy and Optimism for Michigan's Future," said she hopes to be judged first by her qualifications, knowledge, and decades of experience in business, community activities, and government affairs, but believes this year, women will have a strong presence in the race for the 98th seat.

"While it would be an honor to be the first woman to represent the city of Midland in the state House of Representatives, I will not ask any voter to support my candidacy based solely on the fact that I'm a woman," Glenn said in a prepared statement. "No one can dispute, however, that women are vastly underrepresented numerically in the Legislature, and particularly at a time of intense focus on school safety, sexual abuse, and the need for greater civility in politics, I can offer a competent, professional woman's perspective that I believe will be a valuable contribution to the legislative process in Lansing."

The 98th district seat represents the city of Midland, six townships in Midland County, and seven townships in Bay County. If Glenn wins the primary and the general election in November, she would succeed her husband, state Rep. Gary Glenn, who serves as chairman of the House Energy Policy Committee and is vacating the seat to run for the state senate.

"Politically, since it appears the Democratic candidate for this seat will be a co-founder of the extremely liberal new women's group in Midland, I'm the Republican candidate who can most effectively neutralize any advantage she might otherwise have among female voters," Glenn said.

Glenn said, if elected she will focus on bringing higher-paying new jobs to the Great Lakes Bay region, an issue she believes will be largely driven by the state's energy and tax policies.

"Energy is the single biggest cost of doing business for DowDuPont in Midland, for agricultural processing activities in Bay County, and for the biggest single consumer of electricity in Michigan a few miles south of us, Hemlock Semiconductor," Glenn said.

Glenn said she will benefit from the firsthand exposure to the legislative process she experienced during her husband's chemotherapy treatments in 2016 for cancer, now in remission, when she drove Gary to Lansing each week for five months, attended committee meetings and sat with him during legislative sessions on the House floor.

Education is also a high priority for the mother of five children who said she is pro-life and pro-child. She believes that ensuring quality educational and other opportunities for all children is not only a moral and social obligation but a key element in economic development.

Glenn said she will also be committed to ensuring Michigan veterans receive the gratitude and benefits they earned in service to our country.

A native of Idaho, Glenn earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from Boise State University, where she served as chair of the BSU College Republicans.